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Thanks for all the advice and suggestions so far. My doctor acted almost unconcerned - he didn't give me much diet advice, no meter or anything. Just told me I had probably been diabetic for 5 years. Starting me off at 500 mg Metformin for two weeks then increasing to 1000. Have bathroom issues today, but so does hubby so not sure if it's the meds or something we ate.

I do exercise a lot, and am adding walking after every meal in addition to my one hour bike ride every day. When my back gets better I want to do some weight training again (chiro says not now, other doc agrees)

I still have a lot of weird feelings in my heart/stomach that come and go fluttering, flip-flop), but after reading a lot of websites I think it has to do with fluctuating blood sugar. I guess I am lucky that as far as I know, no damage has been done to organs/nerves so far, my thyroid, liver and kidneys are all great according to my doctor. It would be nice if one day I can reduce or eliminate the medicine, but if it doesn't get any worse I will be happy.

Thanks for all the advice and suggestions so far. My doctor acted almost unconcerned - he didn't give me much diet advice, no meter or anything. Just told me I had probably been diabetic for 5 years. Starting me off at 500 mg Metformin for two weeks then increasing to 1000. Have bathroom issues today, but so does hubby so not sure if it's the meds or something we ate.

I do exercise a lot, and am adding walking after every meal in addition to my one hour bike ride every day. When my back gets better I want to do some weight training again (chiro says not now, other doc agrees)

I still have a lot of weird feelings in my heart/stomach that come and go fluttering, flip-flop), but after reading a lot of websites I think it has to do with fluctuating blood sugar. I guess I am lucky that as far as I know, no damage has been done to organs/nerves so far, my thyroid, liver and kidneys are all great according to my doctor. It would be nice if one day I can reduce or eliminate the medicine, but if it doesn't get any worse I will be happy.

It sounds like you need a new doc--this is a serious disorder and has to be taken seriously and if your doc won't do so, you might be tempted to not take it seriously either. It sounds like you have good health habits already.

I've had heart palps before and it takes a bit to straighten them out, but magnesium and olive leaf extract can help--in my case, the OLE extract made them go away within a week and they never came back, even though they were bad before I took it.

To OP:
How were you diagnosed?
By ONE fasting reading of over 126, or
By ONE random test over 200, or
By an Oral Glucose tolerance test?
The last one is the most accurate.

The other thing is that the ADA has tightened up the dl readings for diabetes.
A normal fasting reading WAS 70-110. It is NOW 60-99.
Many Americans are borderline and they can prevent the progression to a full diabetes diagnosis.

Don't be depressed. I've known of people who led productive lives into their 80s and 90s with this.

To OP:
How were you diagnosed?
By ONE fasting reading of over 126, or
By ONE random test over 200, or
By an Oral Glucose tolerance test?
The last one is the most accurate.

The other thing is that the ADA has tightened up the dl readings for diabetes.
A normal fasting reading WAS 70-110. It is NOW 60-99.
Many Americans are borderline and they can prevent the progression to a full diabetes diagnosis.

Don't be depressed. I've known of people who led productive lives into their 80s and 90s with this.

My diagnosis was based on ONE random test over 200 (blood). No glucose tolerance test. My chiro (who is also a nutritionist) says those tests only tell you a number at that point in time, not the whole picture. I do think I need a new doctor. This doctor is my husband's doc, and he is OK I guess for a GP, but I think I need someone who can give me more answers, not sure I am completely happy with his attitude. Plus, when I had complained about my weird heart sensations, he basically now said "at least I know it wasn't all in my head" as if I were making this stuff up! My husband likes him, but not sure I do.

There are also internists who specialize in Diabetes. You just need someone who is a specialist in it. Endocrinologist might be a good choice since you may have thyroid issues that are affecting your heart.

I agree with Lubby. If you can, see an endocrinologist. Many GPs have knowledge that goes only so far with diabetes. And they tend to only listen to the ADA.

I was a bit disappointed with my last trip to my MD, whom I generally love. He only recommends testing twice a day. He expressed concern that I might become "obsessed with numbers" on my monitor. I explained that I was treating myself as my personal science experiment and that testing more often is how I am understanding what happens when I eat various foods or amounts of carbohydrates. He reluctantly wrote me a script for more strips. I am not a particularly obsessive personality - I *am* interested in understanding how things work.

In the six months since I was diagnosed, if I had only tested twice a day and hadn't done the reading of various opinions that I have - I would know precisely nothing right now. Nothing. Perhaps as I continue to learn how to "eat to my meter" I'll be able to test fewer times a day. But, in the end, I'm the only one that really cares about my health, I know my body best, and if I don't do this - no doctor is going to do it for me.

My diagnosis was based on ONE random test over 200 (blood). No glucose tolerance test. My chiro (who is also a nutritionist) says those tests only tell you a number at that point in time, not the whole picture. I do think I need a new doctor. This doctor is my husband's doc, and he is OK I guess for a GP, but I think I need someone who can give me more answers, not sure I am completely happy with his attitude. Plus, when I had complained about my weird heart sensations, he basically now said "at least I know it wasn't all in my head" as if I were making this stuff up! My husband likes him, but not sure I do.

There are good internists who have a sizable proportion of diabetics as their patient load - sometimes half - so they do know about it. Forget your chiro. Look for the letters MD. When you got this random over 200, was it 207 or was it 317? Big difference. If you just ate a piece of chocolate cake and were in the midst of a panic attack, you might hit close to 200. Look for a pattern of morning glucose readings or what they look like 2 hours after eating a normal meal. The other indicator, and it's an important one, is the A1C test. It tells how your blood sugar has been, on the average, over a 2 to 3 month period. Don't ask me how they invented a test that measures something over a period of time, both it's often used. Your doctor should probably get you the glucose tolerance test, but some don't go that route because of the time and money, preferring shortcuts in these HMO days.

There are a lot of people toward the higher numbers of the normal ranges who can get outlier readings. Most likely, these people will become Type 2 diabetics by the time they become elderly. I've seen this in some relatives...their diagnosis came in their 70s and 80s.

Hi all. Today I got the news from my Dr. that I have Type 2 diabetes. I had been feeling bad for awhile and having strange symptoms, the main one being heart palpitations (irregular heartbeats) that I couldn't tie to anything. He couldn't say for sure if the palps were 100% caused by the extremely high blood sugar, but does suspect it's the cause. Have any of you have this symptom?

Anyway, he prescribed Meformin which I am to start taking tonight, and just wondering what to expect. I am not much of a medicine taker, usually try to go the natural route if possible, so this is new for me. Does it have any horrific side effects? Will I have to be on this for life, or will diet and exercise be enough once it's under control?

I was also wondering if losing more weight will help with my numbers. I have dropped over 30 lbs. over the past few years, I am over 5'8" tall and currently weight 166, trying to get back to about 145. I do exercise several times per week, and also see a chiropractor for adjustments and massage (I have back and arthritis issues).

I will be reading this forum a lot the next few weeks to learn more about this. I felt depressed when he gave me the diagnosis but hopefully you all can reassure me it won't be that bad.

Thanks!

You are right to learn as much as you can about diabetes 'cause it's a illness that takes no prisoners while it plays for keeps.

One point here is walk as much as you can if not more to burn off as much blood sugar as possible. THAT will help a lot.........

Diet and Exercise are very important with Diabetes, try a Low Gi diet i was diagnosed 6 years ago i managed to stay off the pills by eating Low Gi foods but you have to remember that diabetes is progressive, i'm now on 2x 500 Metformin and my glucose levels are under control. The side effects of Metformin vary from person to person, try to persevere with them and eat better, there are plenty of good sites to visit that have discussion forums, i personally use a UK one and have learned a great deal from that about what foods are good or bad as it can be very confusing. I'm sure there are good sites in the US have a look.Don't be too hard on yourself you can have a little luxury food today but you know tomorrow you will be back on the diet. Good Luck. Keep smiling.

What are "low Gi" foods?

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